University And Startup Partner To Offer Crash Course On Medical Marijuana For Health Workers

Some patients in Pennsylvania could be able to get prescriptions for medical marijuana early next year. In the meantime, many doctors, pharmacists and other health care providers have questions.

Later this month, Thomas Jefferson University and the Philadelphia-based startup Greenhouse Ventures will begina series of classes for health professionals across the state.

The therapy has been rarely taught in medical schools and, unlike other medications, it is not being promoted by one entity, said Sara Jane Ward, an associate professor at Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine. Ward researches cannabinoids, the chemical compounds found in cannabis, and is one of the course instructors.

“There is not a pharmaceutical company to send a representative out and [say], ‘This is our new pill for chronic pain and these are the benefits,'” Ward said. “They would normally be getting that education as new drugs are rolling out onto the market, so this is really being provided